Ski leash



April 19, 1960 INVENTOR. MORTON STIMLER United States PatentOfiiice2,33,324 Patented Apr. 1%, 1960 SKI LEASH Morton Stimler, Hyattsville,Md. Application December 23, 1957, Serial No. 704,436

6 Claims. (Cl. 280-1135) This invention relates to a mechanism forlinking a ski to a skier by a leash whereby the ski is prevented fromsliding down the slope away from the skier should it become disengagedfrom the boot as, for example, with the use of safety release binders,and moreover to provide this link between ski boot and ski in a mannerwhich minimizes the danger of a released ski striking the skier during ahigh speed fall.

Heretofore the linking of a ski boot to a ski has been accomplished by aconnecting strap attached at its ends to appropriate portions on the skiand boot respectively, and of sufficiently short length to preventsnagging, tangling or fouling while the skier is skiing.

There are several disadvantages to the old devices, one of which is thedanger to a falling skier of being struck by his own ski which isreleased during a fall and is pulled closely behind him by the shortconnecting strap. Another disadvantage is that the short connectingstrap often breaks under the stress to which it is subjected during ahigh speed fall causing the skier to lose his ski which, acted upon bythe force of gravity, will then normally accelerate downhill, therebycreating an inconvenience to the skier, with the possibility of damageto the ski by collision, and a serious hazard to other skiers. Thesedisadvantages are mutually complementary in the old devices in thatinterconnecting the boot and ski by means of a hightensile strengthstrap which is capable of withstanding the forces associated with highspeed falls increases the danger to the falling skier of being struck byhis released ski, and interconnecting the boot and ski by means of a lowtensile strength strap designed to break during a high speed fall, inorder to minimize this danger, results in a lost ski and its associatedhazard and inconvenience to the skier.

The invention described and claimed herein possesses all of theadvantages and none of the foregoing disadvantages of the prior artdevices.

In accordance with the present invention this is achieved by providing aleash linking the ski boot to the ski and conveniently carrying along-line stowed by a storage member in such a manner that the line isimmediately released and pays out when a predetermined force is appliedto it, such, for example, as would be applied when the ski boot and skibecome separated during a fall of the skier, thereby permitting the skito move sufficiently distant from the skier to minimize the danger ofhis being struck by his dislodged ski and providing a means whereby theskier may easily recover his ski, and restore the leash to its initialcondition by rewinding the line on the storage member. A small portionof the leash is made of elastic material to absorb the shock which wouldordinarily be experienced by the leash when its full length has beenpayed out, thereby preventing the escape of the ski by leash breakage.The operation of this device will become more clearly apparent from thefollowing description.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a new and improvedski leash having means for maintaining a flexible connection between aski and the boot associated therewith when the ski has become disengagedfrom the boot during a skiing operation.

Another object is to provide a flexible connection between a ski andboot which is effective when the ski is moved a predetermined distancefrom skiing operation.

A further object is to provide a flexible connection between a ski andski boot in which a length of line comprising the connection iswithdrawn from an initial stowed condition to an extended condition whenthe ski is dislodged and moves away from the boot during a skiingoperation, and which permits the movement of the ski from the ski bootto a limited predetermined distance suflicient to prevent the skierbeing struck by a dislodged ski as the line becomes taut.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a leashconnection between a ski and boot which includes elastic means forreducing the shock to which the leash is subjected when it reaches thefully extended position which otherwise would cause breakage of theleash.

Another object is to provide a ski leash which may be detachably securedto a ski and ski boot in an initial stowed condition and which includesa flexible connection between the ski and the boot when the ski hasbecome dislodged from the boot, whereby the dislodged ski may easily beretrieved by the skier to resume the skiing operation.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved ski leash, havingthe foregoing advantages, which is inexpensive to manufacture, simpleand compact in construction, reliable in use and which may be easily andquickly attached and detached at will to a ski boot and ski the bootduring a description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingof which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a portion of a ski boot and skiconnected by the device of the present invention according to apreferred embodiment thereof;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational sectional view, partially broken away,of the device of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a view, partially broken away, shown the ski leash of Fig. lin the process of paying out when the boot and ski have become separatedand are moving away from each other; and

Fig. 4 is a view showing the leash in its storage position on the skiwhen not in use.

Referring now to the drawing for a more complete understanding of theinvention, and more particularly to a toe binder 12 with the device ofthe present invention,

the flexible ski leash 15, connecting the boot and ski in:

the normal skiing condition. One end of the line 13 is: attached to theski at a suitable portion thereof such, for example, as the loopedportion of the bracket 14 by' means of connector 17, and one end of theelastic shock absorber 16, made of any material suitable for the purposesuch, for example, as rubber or any of the synthetic varieties thereof,is connected to the boot in any suitable manner as by connector 18 atconnecting ring 19 secured to the boot lace 21.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view showing a line stowage ordispensing spool or bobbin 22 through which a hole 23 preferably extendsaxially for the full length of the spool. One end of the elastic shockabsorber 16 passes through the hole 23 and is prevented from slippingout by a knot 24 which is tied in the end portion of the elastic shockabsorber, and which abuts against the re-' cessed portion 25 of thespool. The other end of the elastic shock absorber is secured to theconnectorls for detachably connecting the leash to the boot. One end ofthe line 13 is secured to the knotted end of the elastic shock absorberand is shown wound on the spool in the on which is.

3 initial stowed condition with the other end of the line secured to'the connector 17 after passing through the hole 26 in the cover 27. An'intermediate portion of the line protruding through the hole 26 in .thecover is knotted on both sides of the hole at 28 and 29 respectively.The knot 28 inside the cover prevents the line from paying out until thecover and spool become separated; The knot 29 prevents that portion ofthe line which protrudes through the hole in the cover from being pulledinto the cover when Winding the line on the spool and, co-acting withthe knot 28, maintains a constant length of line protruding through thehole and extending outwardly from the-cover. The cover and spool aredetachably fixed to one another in the initial stowed condition of theline,

a as shown in Fig. 2, by the gripping action of the plurality of curvedspring fingers 32 formed by the plurality of slots 33 in the open endportion of the cover which is so shaped as to co-act with a a concavegroove 31 in the end of the spool thereby forming a friction grip orreleasable latch arrangement which holds the cover and spool in theposition shown until a predetermined force is appliedto the cover andspool, through thetline and shock absrober, of suificient strength tocause separation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a view in which is shown the ski dislodgedfrom the boot 19.The sudden increase in tension in the line 13- caused by thisdislodgement is transmitted to the cover at the knot 28, Fig. 2.

Fig. -4 is a view in which is shown a convenient storage position of theleash 15 on the ski 11 when not in use. The connector 18' is shownconnected to the ski at the bracket 14.

In a skiing operation utilizing the device of the present invention, theski leash would normally be used to form a flexible connection betweeneach ski and its associated boot. The skis are first attached to theboots in the normal manner by means of the ski bindings 12 shown inFigs. 1 and 5. Assuming that each leash was initially in. the storedposition shown in Fig. 4, the connector 18 must be disconnected from thebracket 14 and attached to the ring 19 in order to effect the skiingposition shown in'Fig. 1. In the event of the dislodgement of a skiduring askiing operation in which the ski and boot move apart withsufficient force to separate the cover 27 from thebobbin '22 as shown inFig. 3, the line 13 will pay out permitting the ski and boot to continueto separate untilthe full length of line has payed ofr thebobbin. Theshock to which the line would normally be subjected when its full lengthhas been payed off the bobbin is greatly reduced by the elastic shockabsorber 16 which thereby minimizes leash breakage. Thus a positiveconnection between ski and skiboot is maintained and the ski ispermitted to rnovea safe distance away from the skier. The ski may thenbe retrieved by means of the leash and may againbe attached to the bootby rewinding the line on the bobbin and pressing the bobbin into thecover so that the spring fingers engage the, groove in the bobbin andthe skier may then continue his skiing operation.

Whereas the invention has been described with reference to a particularexample which gives satisfactory results, it is not so limited asvarious changes and modifications'may' be made by one skilled in the artto which this invention pertains, after understanding the invention,without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it ismy intention therefore, in the appended claims, to cover all suchchangesand modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United. States is:

1. Aski retrieving leash comprising an elongated elastic couplingmember, a line dispensing .device comprising a bobbin, a line initiallywrapped about said bobbin and hailin one end thereof in connection withan end portion of said coupling member, means on said dispensing deviceand secured to said line for releasably retaining a length ofjsai'd linein a wrapped condition about the-bobbin until a force sutficient torelease the line is applied to the other.

end of the line, said line retaining means comprising a cylindricalcasing to which an intermediate portion of the line is secured andincluding means on said casing for establishing a releasable connectionbetween the casing and the bobbin, and means for connecting the otherend portion of said coupling member and the other end of said line to aski boot and ski clamped thereto respectively in such manner that thedispensing device is supported by the coupling member in an initialposition adjacent the boot and above the upper surface of the ski.

2. A skiing apparatus comprising a boot, a ski detachably secured tosaid boot, a longitudinally extensible line secured at an end thereof tosaid boot, a second line fixedly connected at one end thereof to saidlongitudinally extensible line and at the other end to the ski, stowagemeans connected to said longitudinally extensible line and including acylindrical casing fixedly secured to said sec 0nd line, and releasablelatch means on said casing and stowage means respectively for initiallymaintaining a. pre-' determined' fractional portion of the length ofsaid second line in a stowed condition within said casing.

3. A skiing apparatus according to claim 2 in which said stowage meansincludes a non-rotatable bobbin disposed within said casing andaboutwhich said fractional portion of the length of said second lineiswrapped.

4. A skiing apparatus according to claim 3 in which said latch meansincludes means on said bobbin coacting with means on said casing.

5;,A device for retrieving a ski which has becomejdislodged from askiers boot comprisinga line, a non-rotatable spool for stowingapredetermined length ofsaid line wrapped thereabout and having a holedisposed longitudinally therein, a cover enclosing the spool and lengthof line wrapped thereabout and fixedly secured to an intermediateportion of said line, releasable latch means for releasably locking thecover on the spool in such manner that the cover is unlocked therefromin response to a pull of predetermined force suddenly applied thereto, asecond line composed of resilient longitudinally extensif ble materialhaving ,an end portion thereof disposed with in said hole and securedtosaid spo ol and to one end of said named line, and means for connectingthe other ends of said first named line and the second line to the skiand to the boot. v

6. A device for retrieving a ski which has become dis? lodged from askiers boot comprising a line, non-rotatable means for stowing apredeterminedlength of said'line wrapped thereabout, a cover enclosingsaid non-rotatable means and length of line wrapped thereabout andfixedly secured to an intermediate portion of said line, means forreleasably locking the cover to said non-rotatable means in such mannerthat the cover is unlocked and detached from the non-rotatable meansinresponse to a pull of predetermined force suddenly applied thereto, anda second line composed of resilient longitudinally extensible materialcharacterized by a reduction in thecross-sectional area thereof inproportion to'the force applied thereto, one end of said second linebeing connected to said stowing means and the other end of each of saidlines being connected to said ski and the boot.

ReferencesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ISwitzerland Nov. 16, 1955v

